A cold synonym can describe a winter morning, a handshake or a heart, and no single replacement covers all three. For weather, chilly, freezing and icy are the workhorses. For people, distant, aloof and frosty do the job, and for a lack of feeling, callous or unfeeling.
Need another word for cold in a hurry? Scan the sense table first, then the temperature strip, which stops a gentle breeze from turning into a freezing one.
Swatch at a glance
Best swaps
chilly, freezing, icy, frosty, distantPart of speech
Adjective; noun (a cold, the cold)Most formal
frigid, glacial, impersonalMost casual
nippy, freezing, baltic (British slang)Strongest
frigid, arctic, bitterAntonyms
hot, warm, friendlyWatch out
Frigid used about a person can sound sexual and insulting. Use it for weather and water only.
Which cold synonym fits: five meanings
| Kind of cold | Try | Sample line |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | chilly, freezing, icy, wintry, raw | It was a raw, wet afternoon. |
| Feeling it in your body | chilled, numb, shivering | My fingers were numb after the ride. |
| Unfriendly | distant, aloof, frosty, curt | He gave a curt nod and left. |
| No emotion | callous, heartless, clinical | The letter read as clinical and flat. |
| Illness | a bug, chill, the sniffles | I picked up a bug at school. |
How cold is it? The thermometer of words
The chips above climb like a thermometer going down. Cool is pleasant, the kind of air you want on a hike; see cool synonyms for its many other senses. Chilly means you want a sweater. Frosty means ice on the grass. Freezing is at or below zero Celsius, or used loosely for very cold. Frigid is the formal, extreme end.
Other colorful words: raw is damp and cold, bitter is cold with wind, brisk is cold but refreshing, and nippy is a chatty way to say chilly.
Words for a cold person or reply
These describe manner, from mild to harsh.
- Reserved: quiet and private, not rude.
- Distant or aloof: keeps others at arm's length.
- Standoffish: casual and a bit critical.
- Frosty or icy: openly unwelcoming, often after a disagreement.
- Callous or heartless: cruel because they do not care.
Reviewing a hotel, a guest first wrote: "The staff were cold." Changing it to "The front desk staff were polite but distant" is fairer and more useful to the next traveler, because it says exactly what was missing.
For the rude end of the range, the harsh synonyms page helps.
Swapping cold in everyday sentences
- It is cold outside becomes it is chilly outside or it is freezing outside.
- A cold drink becomes an icy drink or a chilled drink.
- She gave me a cold look becomes she gave me a frosty look.
- A cold, empty office becomes an unwelcoming, empty office.
- His cold reply hurt becomes his curt reply hurt.
- I have a cold becomes I have the sniffles (casual) or I have a bug.
Cold as a noun
The cold, meaning cold weather, can become the chill, the frost or low temperatures. A cold, the illness, is often called a bug or the sniffles in speech. Note that flu is a different, more serious illness, so do not swap it in unless that is what you mean.
Cold idioms and phrases
Give someone the cold shoulder means ignore them on purpose. Get cold feet means lose courage before a big step. In cold blood means calmly and cruelly. Out in the cold means left out. Cold call means a sales call to a stranger.
Antonyms of cold
For temperature, the opposite of cold is hot or warm, with mild for gentle weather. For people, choose warm, friendly, affectionate or caring. The warm synonyms, hot synonyms and friendly synonyms pages give fuller lists, and more adjectives live on our describing words page.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a more literary choice than cold?
Frigid, glacial and wintry sound more literary. Use frigid for air or water rather than for a person.
What do you call a cold person?
Aloof, distant and reserved are fair descriptions. Callous and heartless suggest cruelty, so keep them for real cruelty.
Is chilly colder than cold?
No. Chilly is milder. You feel a little cold and reach for a jacket, while freezing means very cold. Order them chilly, cold, freezing.
Can I use icy instead of cold?
Yes, for drinks, roads, wind and unfriendly looks. Icy roads are slippery with ice, so it adds danger that plain cold does not.
Which words are opposites of cold?
Hot and warm for temperature, and warm or friendly for people. Mild suits weather that is neither hot nor cold.
What does cold mean in cold call or cold email?
It means unplanned contact with someone who does not know you. Unsolicited is the formal synonym.